Before It All Happened
by fantasmic-lol-get-it
Summary: One-shots about the Keepers before the DHI program.
1. Finn at MK

**A/N: I've been meaning to write one-shots about the Keepers before the series. From meeting each other to family bonds, you're **_**very **_**welcome to suggest! Any age, any Keeper (or Fairlie!), any place. To start them I'll start like the series started-Finn at the Magic Kingdom. Only, this time, he isn't 13 years old, but a 5 year old. I'll refer to him as 'Larry', because KKI said that's the name he used before third grade.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Ridley Pearson, I don't own Kingdom Keepers, and if I did I'd be writing KKV while hearing Batman music, not writing fanfics while singing along to Relient K. **

5-year-old Larry Whitman loved Disney. Not just the movies, which of course he loved, but the parks, too.

Mommy and Daddy didn't take him to the parks much that year, something that had to do with Mommy's big belly and an unborn sister his parents kept talking about. For Larry, not going to the parks too often only made him enjoy the parks more when he did go.

With his Mickey balloon, his autograph notebook (or one of his many, more like it), and a big smile on his face, Larry Whitman traveled his favorite park, the Magic Kingdom, sitting on Daddy's shoulders.

He loved the smell of Main Street U.S.A., the parades that involved pirates and swords, meeting his favorite heroes and villains, and, he probably wouldn't admit as a teenager, getting kissed on the cheek by the Princesses, Snow White specially, when he took a picture with them.

Larry loved the tunnels in Tom Sawyer Island, the Haunted Mansion(which stopped scaring him that year), It's A Small World, and, weirdly, staring at the old Firehouse. He would soon forget this, but sometimes he swore he saw a white-haired man staring back at him.

That year, Daddy tried to make Larry interested in rides like Splash Mountain, the Barnstormer, and Big Thunder Mountain, because he had finally reached the minimum height. But Larry was too scared to ride. He looked at those rides and saw ups, downs, huge falls, and screaming children. No way he'd ride anything like _that. _Little Larry being scared of such basic rides didn't please Daddy much, but with a lot of coaxing from Larry's mom, Daddy didn't force him to ride anything Larry did not want to ride.

Larry enjoyed the fireworks, too. They scared him a little bit, but his fear was forgotten every time he saw the gold, pixie-dust-like fireworks. Seeing Tinkerbell fly through the sky made his night, and when the speakers played "When You Wish Upon A Star" he got really sleepy, and knew it was time to go home.

Every time Larry passed the gates to go home, he whispered a silent "Bye bye" to the Castle and, just before falling asleep on his daddy's arms, wondered about the Park at night, when not a single kid was in it._ Must be a happy place, filled with adventure, magic, and sword-fighting! _

And the next morning, the first thing he'd do was ask his parents when they would take him to the place where dreams really do come true again.

**A/N: Adorable little Finny. -sigh- I can't believe he's almost 16. They grow up so fassstttt! -cries- **

**Anyway, back to normal, LOL, review&suggest ideas? :D**

**-287 days for KKV: Shell Game-**


	2. Willa's DINOSAUR Birthday

**A/N: Thanks to everyone! I've already planned the next few chapters, thanks for the suggestions! I swear I'm sorry for the late update-Post-Potter Depression went hard on me, but it'll get better now. Thanks to kingdom-keepers-rule and therealginnyweasley13 for suggesting this!**

Isabella Angelo was about to have the best birthday ever!

Or at least that's what she told herself.

Jake, the oldest of her three brothers, took her to Animal Kingdom.

Isabella was half his age, but he was probably her favorite brother. He could be a little irresponsible, yes, but he loved her and never, ever bothered her the way Brandon and Mike, her other brothers, did. Besides, Jake called her "Willa", and even though she didn't know why, she loved it. The rest of her family disliked the name, all except her dad, who started calling her Willa, too. It stuck until she started calling herself Willa, writing her name as Willa, and introducing herself as Willa.

Jake took her to see the Lion King show, which she loved. Even though it made her cry, the movie was still one of her favorites. They took the safari, and laughed their way through the park. Everything was perfect, until Jake suggested a ride Willa had never had the guts to ride.

"Let's get into DINOSAUR! The line is oddly short, and you like dinosaurs, don't you?" Jake said.

Willa, who'd always been kind of shy, didn't want to admit she was scared of a ride. "Uh, um.. okay."

The line, as he had said, was oddly short. They were almost about to get to the part when the scientists give you your mission when Jake started moving like he was dancing. "Don't move, Willa!" Jake said. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back!"

And just like that, he was gone.

Willa tried to calm herself.

"Okay, he'll be back. He'll be back." Willa muttered repeatedly. She didn't move when the line did.

"Um, excuse me?" A girl behind her motioned to the line. Willa gulped. She felt uneasy. As a shy person, she often felt nervous when talking to other people.

The girl pushed her a little.

Willa started moving, and moving.

_Where's Jake?_

She was suddenly first in line.

A cast member motioned to one of the cars, and she ended up with the girl from the line, Willa heard her mom call her Sally Ringwald, and her family.

The ride started, and Willa felt very, _very _nervous now.

Everything was so dark and loud!

Then she saw the dinosaurs.

One was eating a smaller one over here and-

_Turn_

One was roaring over there and-

_Turn_

A huge one just beside her and-

_Turn_

It kept going on and on. But when she really lost it was the T-Rex. She started bawling, and shouting. Willa heard Sally call her a baby, but she didn't care. She wanted Jake to get her out of there!

She shut her eyes, and, after what seemed like an eternity, the ride stopped.

She heard Sally and her family go away.

She didn't open her eyes.

Suddenly, the voice of a Cast Member was asking her what was wrong got to her.

Willa told the Cast Member, whose name was Amber, everything once she got out of her seat. Amber gave her a cookie, and hugged her, telling her everything was going to be okay. Amber also wished her a happy birthday.

"Hey, is your name by any chance Willa?" Amber asked.

Willa nodded.

"I think your brother is looking for you."

And he was, just outside of DINOSAUR.

Amber talked to Jake, asking him to keep Willa safe.

"You should keep your eye on her, we want her day to be very special! Birthdays are a perfect ocassion to be happy." And then Amber smiled sweetly at him.

Jake blushed and stuttered when he promised he'd do his best.

After Amber went away, and Jake's scarlet face, too, Jake turned to her.

"Sorry, Willa. I shouldn't have left you."

"It's okay." Willa smiled, turning to hug her brother.

"Let's go see some animals!" Jake said.

Willa smiled. Maybe her birthday would get better.


	3. Hugo and Philby's Friendship

**A/N: Thanks to Cooltoons4readers and .narnia for this idea. Also, thanks to famanda4ever. I'm happy that you like the stories and found my profile funny. Here's your cupcake *hands cupcake***

** I am aware that I'll put some things **_**after **_**it all happened, but I loved writing this. Hugo and Philby's friendship through the years, seven to sixteen years old. I'll write that Philbs was 14 when his adventures as a Keeper began because of how the book described him as sixteen in the fourth.**

**Disclaimer: I'm a teenage girl, not a best-seller author. I don't own anything.**

_**7 years old**_

Recess: that time of the day when kids shout, play, eat, and act like they're their age.

Most kids, anyway.

Dell Philby was sitting with his encyclopedia alone in a far corner. He could hear all the other kids screaming and playing. Most of those kids bullied him for being so smart, but Dell Philby's parents had raised him to be confident- Dell Philby knew that he was a bit more mature than them, a bit more intelligent, and he was very proud of that.

Dell Philby (never just "Dell" or "Philby", as he liked the way "Dell Philby" sounded formal and smart) had just started reading the encyclopedia's 400th page when a kid from his grade sat beside him. His name was Hugo, and Dell Philby knew that he lived in his neighborhood, but had never talked with him. Dell Philby knew his parents often fought, as sometimes, while trying to find his cat, Elvis, he'd pass by Hugo's house and hear the screams from the boy's parents. At first, Philby had been a bit stunned-his parents never fought like that. But, being how he was, understood rather quickly about the problem and wasn't weirded out by it.

Hugo Montcliff was a scrawny kid that always wore the same shirt to school. At first look, you'd think he was your average troublemaker, but Dell Philby had noticed that he was actually smart when he tried, something he didn't do very often.

"Why are you reading when it's recess?" Hugo asked him.

Dell Philby looked up from his giant book, which looked kind of funny considering his small face.

"I like knowing stuff. Besides, all those kids don't like me, and I don't see why I would like to be with them." Philby said with a forced smile on his face that suggested he wasn't too happy about his reading being interrupted.

"Then why do you act like a know-it-all? Being a nerd isn't cool. They'd like you if you didn't act so smarty."

Dell Philby looked stunned.

"Why would I do _that_? I like being how I am, and if they don't like it, they don't have to. Knowing stuff is cool."

A silence fell between them.

"Why do you act like you are dumb?" Dell Philby asked.

"No one would think I'm cool if I were smart."

"I think that being smart makes you cool." Dell Philby said.

Hugo's face brightened

"Really?"

"Yup. And I'd be your friend if you didn't act dumb."

Hugo considered this. He didn't have many friends. Not all of the kids thought he was cool, and the parents of the ones who did think so didn't want him anywhere near their house.

"Deal! But I'm not calling you _Dell Philby_. Just Philby sounds cooler."

Philby smiled.

"Deal!"

_**11 years old**_

Philby was in his TV room watching the History channel (they were talking about time travel and aliens) when he heard a knock on his window. Curiously, and a bit scared, Philby looked through it and saw-

"_Hugo?"_

Philby ran towards the window and opened it, worried sick about his friend. Was he.. was he _crying_?

"Are you okay?" Philby whispered. He didn't want his mom to hear them-what would she say?

Hugo was turning redder by the second.

"Come in, what are you waiting for?" Philby said when his friend didn't answer.

"Okay, promise me you won't tell anyone in school about what I'm about to tell you." Hugo whispered while coming into the house.

Philby nodded. "Promise."

"My um.. my parents are fighting-don't worry, they always do.. but Dad was much more scary today-not that I was scared. I just.. er.. have trouble falling asleep when people are screaming, and because you're in the neighborhood.. er.. I wondered if I could stay here." Hugo said all this without looking at his friend. Philby took this in.

"Sure, Hugo," Philby felt a little uncomfortable. What was he supposed to say? "Stay here for a minute, I need to do something." he said, and ran towards his parents' room.

"Mom?"

"Oh, hi, sweetie. Are you playing video games? Remember-you're not allowed to play them after ten. That means you've got ten minutes to play."

"I know. Mom, I was wondering if Hugo could stay for the night?" Philby knew his mother had a soft spot for Hugo. Philby knew it has something to do with Hugo's fighting parents, and, because he'd overheard his own parents talking about it, Mr. Montcliff's drinking problems.

Gladis Philby seemed to be thinking deeply. After a few moments Philby asked her the question again, knowing very well that if she said no he'd let Hugo stay, anyway, but that her answer was important, nonetheless.

"Yes, he can stay. It's Friday, so there would be no problems with school. Very well."

Philby said a quick thank you and ran back to Hugo, who stood nervously in the same spot Philby had left him.

That was the first time Hugo slept in Philby's couch, both not knowing that it wouldn't be the only.

_**14 years old**_

"Okay, what's up? You look tired and I just beat you three times in a row in less than five minutes. And it always takes me ten."

Hugo had come over to Philby's house to play video games. Philby knew that Hugo was right. He was very, very tired, but he didn't know how to tell Hugo why.

"I didn't get much sleep last night." It was true, he hadn't. He'd been having such impossible dreams... of course it couldn't be possible..

He'd stayed up all night trying to make sense of them.

Philby's dreams were all about the same thing: Disney after dark. But they felt so incredibly real that it unnerved him. He knew that it was impossible to remember how a dream started, but he could remember the past couple of dreams perfectly, even though you normally forget ninety percent of your dreams after just ten minutes.

It just didn't make sense!

Philby wasn't used to this, he wasn't used to not knowing. When he didn't know something, Google always helped, but this time not even Google could answer him. And that was alarming.

"Why?" Hugo asked, too smart and nosy to leave the topic in such a lame excuse.

Philby couldn't help but smile, and then, just as quickly, frown.

"Do you think you can wake up in a completely different place, while your body is still in your bed?" Philby asked.

"Like being in two places at the same time? Like in Back to the Future, when Doc is besides Younger Doc because he's from the present, and Younger Doc is from the past?"

Philby knew he shouldn't had showed those movies to Hugo.

"Yes, I mean, no. Yes, two places at the same time. No, not present plus past. I mean, present plus present. Like.. somehow splitting from your body."

"Okay, but if you split from your body.. what does your soul inhabit?"

Philby gulped. "A holographic version of yourself?"

Hugo stared at him for a second and then began to laugh.

"You could've just said you had a headache, you know?" Hugo snorted. "Philby, you may be a bit smarter than me, but I'm not an idiot."

Philby forced a laugh.

_**15 years old**_

Hugo stared at the ceiling.

Philby had just canceled their video gaming plans, again. Why? He hadn't said. But Hugo knew it had something to do with the other DHIs.

He didn't want to go to his house, his father was probably there, and he didn't want to see his mother cry while he was in a bad mood. If he did, he'd probably yell at his dad, and that wouldn't end up pretty.

Philby was Hugo's only friend, and he was grateful for all he'd done for him, really, but sometimes it was hard not to get jealous or angry about how perfect his friend's life was compared to his own.

First of all, Philby always had better grades than him. Always. No matter how hard Hugo studied, no matter how much he tried to be better. Philby was a genius, he didn't even put effort into it.

Second of all, everyone liked him. Teachers, parents, kids. Just because he was famous. Not to mention the girls. Most of them tried to flirt with him, always smiled at him, winked. And Philby didn't even care. Hugo wasn't sure he even noticed.

Third of all, both his parents loved him, even before he started to get all of that money (fourth of all) for being a DHI.

And, last but not least, he had other friends. Cooler friends. Famous friends. The hot blonde chick, the smart girl, the cool guy who everyone wanted to know, and the "leader" of the pack that seemed to be close to Philby.

If Philby was as smart as Hugo knew him to be, he'd forget about Hugo and stick with the group.

He was sure he would, and then Hugo would have to add another thing to the list: someone to count on.

_**16 years old**_

Hugo blinked.

Was the woman being honest?

She'd just promised him everything he wanted- a greater knowledge, popularity, glory, love from his family, attention, money, strength, and friends.

She'd just told Hugo everything about Philby and the other DHIs. How they wanted to defeat the Overtakers, how they crossed over. And the creepy thing was it all made sense, it all clicked.

The woman, a beautiful woman who apparently was the Evil Queen, had appeared in his mirror, informing Hugo of her plans, of what his friend really did and never spoke about. And all he had to do to win all he ever wanted was agree to help her. Agree to get glory just by helping her.

Her reflection suddenly changed to Philby's.

"Please, as if you'd agree to that. You're too stupid."

Hugo felt himself flush and watched as Philby laughed at him. Behind him, the other DHIs laughed, too.

Then the reflection changed to his mother's.

"Do it for me. If you do, your father will quit drinking, and we both will stop fighting."

Hugo watched a tear fall down her cheek.

"Please. We can be happy."

If Hugo had been in his right mind, it all would've appeared a bit too horcrux-ish, but because he was still thinking about his mother's words, he bought it all in, let it affect him.

"I.. I agree."

The reflection changed back to the Queen.

"Very well. You won't regret this."

She then began chanting.

"_Green as leaves_

_Soul will be changed_

_Shouting for magic_

_Enslaved and silenced-"_

Hugo started getting scared, but felt unable to turn away.

He was so going to regret this.

**A/N: That was longish. Sorry for the stupid spell, it's late.**


End file.
